Method of finishing articles



' 1m, so, 1941.

I DIP m THIN comma COIWPOSITION 11 REMOVE, DRAIN mm ALLOW COATING T0 SLIGHTLY SET J. A. BEDE 2,268,012

METHODOF FINISHING ARTICLES Filed Aug. 14, 1939 III SPRAY/N6 APPLY COATING BY III AIR-DRY 0R BRKETO PRODUCE A WRINKLE FINISH COATING DDP'COAT BAKE OR AIR-DRY Jrwwm JFIMEs ABEDE. .57 F

alum 4 Patented Dec. 30, 1941 I i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD OF FINISHING ARTICLES James A. Bede, Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to New Wrinkle, Inc., Dayton, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Application August 14, 1939, Serial No. 290,019

1 Claim. (CI. 91-70) My invention relates to an improved process heater or the like. As illustrated in Figure 1, of finishing articles, and more particularly to a one or more of the articles 10 which are to be process of applying liquid coatings on metal, finished are suitably supported and immersed in glass, wood or other suitable material. a relatively thin solution of the coating, such as It is an object of this invention to provide an 5 indicated at H. The articles are then removed improved process of applying wrinkle coatings from the dip tank and allowed to drain. on metal articles especially castings or pressed While this coating is still wet or tacky the metal parts more rapidly and with less loss of articles are sprayed with a coating of the desired material than in the processes heretofore emfinishing materialhis Spr y Coating-i8 pployed. 10 plied directly over the previous dip or flow coat- Another object is to provide an improved ing before it has thoroughly dried. Preferably method of applying coating compositions wherethe spray C t S pplied hot. The temperature by the coating is impregnated and interlocked of the coating Sp ay d W l depe d upon the p into the pores of the metal surface. This is ticular composition and the temperature at which effected by initially applying a coating containthe coating exhibits the lowest viscosity. Foling a large proportion of volatile solvent provide l g t e pp a o of t e p ycoat the aring a low viscosity coating such as will readily ticle is allowed to air dry or is forced air dried penetrate into the pores providing a coating havor baked to a hard d y fi It is y i p ing better adhesion to the metal surface. tant to economize in the use of the wrinkle coat Another object is to devise a method of applywhich is sprayed on the first thin coat applied, ing spray coating compositions to articles whereas the wrinkle coating material is very expensive by the manipulator of the sprayer can work and should be economized to the fullest extent faster and produce a better coated product with possible. When the wrinkle coat is sprayed upon less waste of material. a dry surface a considerable amount of material Another object is to provide an improved meths defl cted a d ost by the slack. App od of finishing articles employing the step of covered that if he put a thin coat of paint on pre-dipping the article in a thin solution of the t cas While t s Still Wet y, e coating prior to applying the coating thereover Sp y it With the Wrinkle fi e amou t in the form of a, spray d mm. of wrinkle finish may be saved very materially.

Another object is to devise a foolproof method his is an imp ta t f a of t's inof finishing castings, pressed steel parts and the Ventionlike metal articles whereby the production of the Where it s desired to finish e c es y finished articles is greatly increased with a sub eans f a t nu s n y an sm. as stantial saving effected in the material used. ustr ed i Figure the P s ay e S p- Another objectis to provide an improved methp rt d y va e chain or su ta n y r 0d of finishing articles whereby'the necessity of ea I! a d a e transported through t e p previously thoroughly cleaning the articles to be tank 0 MW coating compa t t e to a finished is eliminated with its added cost and spray sect where a at s pplied y produce a durable finish having good adhesion. sprayin d hereaf r the a cles are air dried Another object is to provide an improved meth- 40 baked to Produce an article having a y 0d of spray coating articles more rapidly and hard finish.

with less waste of material by pro-dipping the WRINKLING FINISH articles prior to applying the spray coat. As an example o finishing articles y y m- Referringtothe drawing: proved process, I will describe it in connection Figure 1 is a diagrammatic representation with the application of wrinkle finish. In this with accompanying perspective illustrations of instance the metal pa a first pp d into a the difierent steps in my improved method of thin solution preferably Comprising a t e finishing articles; of the wrinkle enamel which has been thinned Figure 2 is 'a diagrammatic illustration of how 100 P cent With tOluOlother o s 00 my method may be performed with the use of a patible with wrinkle finish composition may be continuous conveyor system, employed in place of toluol. Where a nitrocellu- Referring to the drawing in detail, there is lose base wrinkle is used, acetone or ethyl acetate, shown for the purpose of illustration the finishetc. may be used, or a mixture of these with ing of a casting or pressed steel article forming toluol, xylol, benzol, etc. may be employed. the base of an appliance such as an electric fan,

The use oi this thin mixture readily coats the article and fills up all the pores and small crevices and the surplus coating rapidly drains from the article leaving no sags or teardrop formations. The draining of the article usually requires about five or ten minutes and it is then ready to be sprayed with the wrinkle finish composition as it is conventionally prepared for spraying. In this instance, however, the enamel is heated to approximately f50 to 165 degrees F. After application of the spray coat the article will be suitably dried or baked to provide a durable finish.

As exemplary of a suitable wrinkle finish composition which may be employed in my process, the following formulae are given:

WRINKLE FINISH COMPOSITION It will be understood that the temperature at which the coating composition is sprayed will depend to a considerable extent upon the amount of solvent used and the condition of the surfaces to be treated. The material will be heated high enough to lower the viscosity of the composition to the point where it will flow readily and yet be below the boiling point of the solvent used in the coating composition. A heavy bodied material, such as generally encountered in wrinkle finishes, will spray with greater ease and speed when heated to around 165 to 1'70 degrees F.

In my improved method the pre-dipping of the metal, prior to spraying, in a thin solution of the coating composition thoroughly cleans the surface of the articles by loosening and dissolving grease and the like foreign matter and the coating penetrates into the pores of the metal surface where it dries and becomes thoroughly interlocked therewith. This initial thin coating provides an excellent base for the application of the spray coat which unites thereto and forms a thoroughly adherent coating. This method of applying coating is likewise applicable to the treating of wood, glass and other articles wherein the surface is somewhat porous, It will be appreciated that if desired the article itse f may be heated prior to the application of the coating.

In connection with the pre-dipping step it will be understood that other suitable compositions may be used than a mixture of the final spray coat composition with thinner; for instance it may be desirable to use a composition distinctly different from the final spray coat. To this end it is only necessary that the final coating possess the property of adhering satisfactorily to the coating applied by dipping.

It will be appreciated of course that the details of procedure in carrying out the various steps of my improved process can be varied with- 1 out departing from the spirit of my invention as defined by the appended claim.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

An improved method of finishing metal arti-' cles consisting of the steps (a) dipping said article in a low viscosity coating composition comprising wrinkle drying oil, resin and solvent, wherein the solvent is added in excess to provide a liquid coating composition which will rapidly drain from said article and remove foreign mat.- ter, (b) applying thereover a spray coating of a relatively high viscosity wrinkle drying composition while the initial coating is still tacky, said wrinkle drying composition comprising wrinkle drying oil, resin and solvent, and (0) baking the coated article to produce a wrinklefinish and said finish coating being applied while heated to a temperature of approximately to F.

JAMES A. BEDE. 

